Senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Vientiane, Laos on November 26 finalized the Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Cooperation Partnership between ASEAN and the ROK to be adopted by their leaders.

The declaration covers political and security cooperation, closer economic relations, including the establishment of an ASEAN-ROK Free Trade Area, cooperation to narrow the development gap within ASEAN, and education and science and technology cooperation, said spokesman of the 10th ASEAN summit Yong Changthalangsy.

This is a follow-up to the decision of the ASEAN-ROK Summit in 2003 during which the leaders agreed to launch an Experts Group Joint Study of ASEAN-ROK economic cooperation, including the possibility of establishing a free trade agreement, Yong, who is also director of the Press Department of the Lao Foreign Ministry,told a news conference.

He also said the ASEAN+ROK Senior Officials Meeting held here Friday agreed on the arrangements for the signing ceremony of the ROK's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia on Saturday.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.